 Ukraine. Counter-offensive will be difficult and long. Ukraine expects that the liberation of the Russian occupied territories will be long and exhausting, says Mikhailov Podoliak, adviser to the head of the office of the president of Ukraine. Podoliak said it in an interview with AFP. Of course, this operation will be quite difficult. Long and will take quite a lot of time, he said. He added that progress is slower than we want. The adviser to the office of the president noted that the counter-offensive is complicated by dense mining as well as logistical problems, including the supply of weapons. Of course, we need additional armoured vehicles, two or 300 tanks, first of all. We need 60 to 80 F-16 aircraft to defend our skies well, especially at the front, Podoliak explained. He added that the number of offensive operations by the Ukrainian army is gradually increasing and not all trained brigades are currently involved in the battlefield. Since Ukraine began its counter-offensive last month, Kiev has recaptured some villages in the south and territory around the ruined city of Bakhmut in the east, but has yet to attempt a major breakthrough across heavily defended Russian lines. Kiev says it is deliberately advancing slowly to avoid high casualties on fortified defensive lines, strewn with landmines, and is focused for now on degrading Russia's logistics and command.